Translucent
by daphrose
Summary: "You're a hero. We're proud of you." That's all he ever wanted to hear. All he wanted was to know that someone cared; that his family cared. So Leo Francis Dooley could leave the world in peace, even if his last look at his siblings was through translucent glass. (Songfic for "Translucent" by Immediate Music.)


**Partially inspired by Crescent Moon Dancer's story, "Bionic—Not Invincible," but mostly inspired by the song "Translucent" by Immediate Music. Highly recommend you read while listening. Also, there aren't enough stories like this that revolved around Leo, so I had to give it a try. I don't own Lab Rats, and enjoy.**

* * *

 *** * * Translucent * * ***

* * *

He sat with his arms wrapped around himself. He looked down at his watch. How long would they wait? He had already given them the go-ahead. No sense in dragging it out. Every second that passed was a second people were in danger.

Including him, but that didn't matter anymore.

The empty room seemed to swallow his thoughts—his very existence. In a few minutes, it would be him alone with trillions of dangerous particles. There was no making it out of this one. Still, at least that meant no one else would be harmed by the matter.

He leaned further into the wall and checked his watch again. Two more minutes. In two minutes or less he would be dead.

It was a strange feeling, sitting alone in a massive, empty room, waiting for your death. At least it could never happen again.

He shivered. He was cold. The last few seconds of his life, and he was cold. He chuckled.

He was at peace. He had said goodbye. It was over. He closed his eyes and allowed a solitary tear to roll down his cheek.

* * *

Check out the room; make sure no gas could leak. Simple enough. Now, if only the whole place hadn't been on alert. If only the doors weren't set to seal off in case of emergency. If only three members of the team hadn't been inside the room when that happened.

"Guys, get out of there!"

He dove in, pushed his siblings out, only to have the door close behind him.

They shouted his name from the other side of the glass. They pounded on the door and yelled, and he yelled back. After a few seconds, they both stopped.

"We'll go find someone to get you out of there!" Chase shouted.

"There's no time!" he yelled back. He checked his watch. "We have seven minutes before that leak gets out."

"I can find someone," Bree said.

"No, it will take all that time to divert the gas to this room. You have to complete the mission!"

"I'll break down the door!" Adam suggested.

"You can't do that," he and Chase said at the same time. Chase looked at him with sorrow on his face.

"Then the room won't be sealed," Chase explained. "Then we won't have a place to send the gas."

"You guys have to go. That leak is getting more and more dangerous by the minute! If you don't hurry, this whole city will be decimated!"

Chase knelt down and the bothers put their hands on opposite sides of the glass. He couldn't see through it clearly; mostly he just made out their shapes.

"You'll die, Leo."

"I know that."

"We'll find a way to get you out."

"There's. No. Time. We have a mission to complete!"

Bree put a hand over her mouth, and he thought she was crying.

"For what it's worth, Leo," Chase said, "I was wrong about you. You know, when you first found us and everything. I thought you were some scrawny kid who would just get in our way. But . . . you've been an amazing brother. You showed us the world; you taught us how to live. I can never thank you enough for that."

Adam nodded. "Yeah, you're the best little brother I've ever had."

"Hey."

Bree knelt down beside Chase. "You're a hero, Leo!" she shouted through the glass. "We're proud of you."

He couldn't help but smile. Those were words he had always wanted to hear, and his sister knew that.

"Thank you," he said. "Now get out of here!"

"No!" Adam yelled. "I'm not leaving you behind!"

"Look, you three have been putting yourselves at risk for the sake of humanity for years. Now it's my turn. I saved you three, so it's time for you three to save the world. Hurry up!"

Adam and Chase nodded and ran off. Bree stayed for a moment, staring at Leo through the translucent glass. "We're all proud of you," she said. "And Davenport will be too." She stood and sped away.

* * *

He looked at his watch. They had less than a minute before the gas got out. Why hadn't they done it yet?

Then there was a hiss, and though he couldn't see it, he knew the gas had been diverted into the room. It would stay in here, with no leaks, until the main containment room could be fixed. It wouldn't get out into the atmosphere, and it wouldn't kill anyone—well, anyone else.

 _Hero. Proud._ The only two words he had ever wanted them to hear. He only hoped Bree was right. What would Big D say? Douglas? Or his mom? She would be devastated.

"I did it for you, Mom," he whispered. "I wanted to save people like you. I know parents aren't supposed to bury their children, but too many of them would've had to do that if I hadn't done this. I saved Adam, Bree, and Chase, and now they can save the world. Can you be brave, Mom? Be a hero for me."

The air got thinner. He couldn't breathe. A thousand foreign substances entered his body. It was over.

Leo Francis Dooley died a hero, the way he always wanted.

* * *

 **Maybe not the best ending ever. Or the best story ever. Whatever. I'm sick, give me a break! (Couldn't really move my neck without a lot of pain yesterday. It was freaky. O.o)** **But anyway, I hope you liked the story, and review it if you did and let me know what you think! Sorry if it was sad. I tried to make it uplifting at the same time. Inspirational, in a way. Thanks for reading! Bye!**


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